Towel cabinet



13. 1925. 1,523,145 F. M. STEINER TOWEL CABINET Filed Aug. 25, 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet l Attorzycv Jan. 13. 1925.

M. STEIINER TOWEL CABINET Filed Au 25, 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 26 n,

fm/enior Fran/(M Steiner Attorneys F. M. STEINER TOWEL CABINET 3 Sheezg-Sheet in van to?" Patente d Jan. 13,1925. I

P ATENT OFFICE.

Misti-BI ER; or" MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA, ASSIGNOR T0 STEINER SALES ooMr NYgor SALT LAKE. crrzflpran, ,A CORPORATION or UTAH.

, FRANK TOWEL CABINET.

' Application filed August 25, 1921. Serial N .495,ass.

To cillwhomitmay com H Be it known that I, FRA K M. STEINEB, a citizen of the United States, resident of Minneapolis, in the county of Hennepin and 'State of Minnesota, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Towel Cabinets,- of whiclrthe' following is a speci-v fication,

'The object of my invention is to provide means in connection with a towel cabinet or support to cause the toweling that is drawn off from one roll generally designated the clean towel roll to" be automatically 7 wound upon another roll generally desig- 15 same time'so arranged that by pulling down nated the soileddtowel roll, and at the on the toweling, clean toweling can be obtained for the user, and by pulling out on the toweling slack may be obtained from the lower roll for convenience whenusin'g the towel. a

A further object of the invention is to provide means whereby when an extra amount of toweling has been pulled tov the front by the user, and. left asa fold or slack portion hanging out of the cabinet, the same .will' be wound upon the soiled towel roll by the action of the user in drawing or pulling a fresh section of toweling from the clean towel roll into position for use.

The invention consists generally in the constructions and combinations hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

' of Figure 2, the toweling being shown in full lines in its normal position, andbeing shown in dotted lines drawn forward and partially pulled out of the front of the cabinet, g

Figure 4 is an elevation of the upper I portion of the opposite end of the cabinet from the shown 1n Figure 1,

Figure 5 is a vertical section on line 55 of Flgure 4,

Figure 6 is a section on line 6'6 of Figure 7, andl Figure 7 is a section-on line 77 of Figure 6, showing a modified construction. 1 In the drawings, 2 represents'the cabinet which is ordinarily made of sheet metal, though material of any otherkind may be employed in its construction. As here shown the cabinet is provided with a lower section or compartment 3, having a door 4 ineach end. The cabinet is preferablysupported upon suitable standards or legs 6--6. The compartment 3 is provided with an opening or slot 7 preferably located inthe upper portion of its rear wall, and it is adapted to contain the roll of clean toweling 8 that is placedloosely in said compartment. The upper section 9 of the cabinet is preferably secured to or formed integrally with the lower section 3, as shown in Figure 3. The rear portion of the cabinet is provided witha wall 11 which preferably ex tends, as here shown, about two-thirds of walls of the upper section of the cabinet (Figure 4) and a winding up roll for the soiled toweling is mounted in hearings in the lower part of the upper section of the cabinet. The lower front wall 15 of the upper cabinet section extends preferably about two-thirds of the height of said section, and an opening is left above this wall extending nearly to the to of the section where it is closed by a suitable mirror 16 preferablysecured between the end walls of said upper section. Theshaft 13 of the roll 12 is preferably provided with a belt pulley 17 and a similar pulley 18 is provided on the shaft of the winding up roll '14. (Figure 2). At the upper endof the wall 11 the toweling passesbehind 'a bar 21 and thence over the roll 12, and down to the roll 14 upon which the soiled towel iswound. 1A belt 22 passes around the pulleys 17 and 18. I have here shown the belt 22 crossed between the pulleys so that the roll 17 is driven in one direction, and the roll18 in the opposite direction as shown in Figure 3 of the drawm s. T prefer to make the pulley 18 considerably smaller in diameter than the pulley 17, so that the roll 14 is rotated much more rapidly than the roll 12.

It will be seen that by pulling downon the portion of toweling that is exposed through the open front of the cabinet, the roll 12 will be rotated upon its axis, and the roll 14will be rotated in the opposite direction, and at a considerably greater speed than the roll 12. As the toweling is unwound from the clean towel roll, and passed over the roll 12, which may be designated the driving roll, it is wound upon the roll 14.

I adjustthe belt 22 WIlZlLIGSPBCt to the I pulleys 17 and 18, so that the friction besurface speedofthe roll .12.

tween the belt and the pulleys is suificient to cause the toweling that is pulled over the roll 12 to be wound upon the roll 14, while at the same time the friction between the belt and the pulleys is light enough to permitslipping betweenthe same when the surface speed of the roll of toweling on the winding up roll 14 is great-er than the It will be seen, therefore, thatthe belt 22, with the pulleys 17 and 18, provide a friction drive from the roll .12 to the. roll 14, which permits suflicient slippage to prevent any strain upon the towellng between the rolls beyond what is required, to cause the toweling drawn over, the. roll 12 to be smoothly wound upon the roll p Moreover, should the user desire to bring the toweling outward through the open front of the casing, producing a slack or 100 therein, as indicated by-dotted lines in .l igure 3, he may accomplish this by pulling outward on the toweling, thereby reversing the roll'14 and drawingthe towelpart of the toweling will be quickly wound thereon.

I do not limit myself to the particular form of friction roll 12 and the roll 14. Any suitable friction drive that will permit the required slippage between the belt and the ulleys of the rolls 12 and 14- may be emp eyed to obtain the same movement of the rolls, andthe same winding action of the toweling.

ever, a straight belt may be used between these pulleys instead of the {cross belt herein shown.

.To increase. the friction" betweenthe toweling and thesurface'of the "roll 12 over which said towelingpasses, I prefer to locate the bar 21 at a point under the roll 12, as indicated in Figure 3,'thereby throwing 'the'toweling inward towards a vertical line passing through the shaft of the roll 12, and increasing the cont-act ear face between the toweling land the roll.

The position ofthis bar alsoincreases the friction upon the toweling and prevents any slackness therein. between theroll; 12 and the supply roll in the bottom of the cabinet.

In order'to limit or measure the amount a of toweling that will be pulled from the I have shown the belt 22 crossed between i the pulleys 17 and 18. If preferred, howrollby a'nser, I prefer to provide in connection wlth, the. roll 12 a stop that will thereof has been made by pulling the toweling over said roll and thereby rotating the same. The stop device thatI prefer to use for this purpose, and which is illustrated.

particularly j *in Figures 4 and 5 of the dra-wlngs is substantially, the sameas that shown in Patent No. 1,287,786, issued to G.

A. Steiner, December 17th, 1918, 'andalso shown in the pending application of said G. A. Steiner,Serial No.I442,127, filed February 23rd, 1921; prises a discbr plate 24 having in the face thereof a groove 25 with the abrupt stop or shoulders 26, 27. This plate is secured to the wall of thecabinet, with the shaft 13 projecting through said plate and provided with a crank 28 having a handle 29,.and slide 30 carrying a lug 31 that engages the groove 25 in the plate 24. WVhenV the roller'12 is rotated, by pulling on the toweling through the open face of the cabinet, the crank 28 is also rotated, the'lug V This stop device com- 31 extending into and followiligtlre groove 25 in the plate 24, As the crank arm 28 rotates with the shaft 13 thelug 31 travels along in the groove25, and when the shaft has made acomplete revolution, from-its normal stoppingpoint, said lug 31 will strike against the shoulder 26 and quickly stop the rotation of; the roll 12. This rotation of the roller 12 will-measure off the toweling material that-has been drawn 7 over the roll 12.

It will be seen that the slide 30 is mounted loosely in ,a slot inthe crank 28, so that said slidemay freely move'back and forth, carrying the lug 31, and may accommodate itself to the varying diameter of the plate or disc 24. c

This temporary stoppage of the toweling,

check said roll, when a complete revolution 2 a Y ures 4 and 5), as soonv asthe'pull is -re-' leased. on the toweling the slide 30 will drop downward and inward across the end of the shaft 13, and will carry the lug 31 out of contact with the shoulder 26, and into the part of the groove immediately opposite the shoulder 27. The roll.12 will,

therefore, be free to make anotherrevolution when impelled by a furtherpulling movement on the toweling depending from said roll. 4

If the measuring stop device is employed a user pulling outward on the toweling, after he has pulled the toweling a suflicient distance to cause the movement of the roll 12 to be stopped by the movement of the stop device, will reverse'the movement of the roll 14,'and he must pull all of the toweling he desires to bring out of the opening in the cabinet from said roll, the roll 12 being locked againstfurther movement by the device described. i

In Figures 6 and 7 Ihave shown a modified construction in which the lower compart1nent'3 is dispensed with and the clean toweling 8 is placed on a roll 33, located near the top of the cabinet and prevented from rotating too freely by a heavy roller 34, having gudgeons arranged in vertical grooves 36in the-wall of the cabinet, which in thisinstance-is indicated as of considerable thickness. In this instance the cabinet is indicated as made of wood. The pulley 17 is arranged upon the shaft of the roll 33, and the belt 22 connects the pulleys 17 and '18, as in the construction hereinbefore described.

The operation is substantially similar to the operation ofthe preferred construction hcreinbefore described; pulling down on the toweling unwinds the same from the roll 33, and, through the "pulleys 17 and 18 and belt 22, operates the winding up roll 14 at a greater speed, causing the toweling to "be rapidly andsmoothly wound on said roll 14. The heavy roller resting on top of the roll of toweling 8 prevents the toweling from being moved too easily off from said roll.

i I prefer to construct the roll 14, and the roll 33, when said roll is used, so that the same may be freely removed from the cabinet and replacedby another roller, without disturbing the-'position-of the pulleys 17 and 18 and belt 22.7 3?

For this purpose :1 mount the pulley 18 upon a short shaft37mounted in a. suitable bearing 38 in the wall of the cabinet. This shaft projects into the interior of the eas- The opposite end of the roll 14 is ing and is provided with a square or polygonal end 39. The roll 14 is provided on its end with a socket 40 into which the end of the shaft 37 projects, so that by rotating the shaft 37 the roll 14 is turnedtherewith'.

rovided with a cylindrical socket 41 an d a spring cont-rolled pin 42, mounted in a suitable socket 43 arranged in the wall of the cabinet. The pin 42' has a stem projecting outside of the cabinet and preferably provided with a head 44 which may be grasped for the purpose of pulling said pin back into the socket, thereby permitting the contiguous end of the roll 14 to be moved 3 towards the adjacent wall of the cabinet,

and the opposite end to be released from the shaft 37.

When the modified construction shown in Figures 6 and 7 of the drawings is employed the shaft 33 and the upper part of the cabinet may beheld in place by devices similar to those already described for holding the shaft 14 (Figure 6). The roll in the upper part of the cabinet, from which the towel is pulled by the user and which is provided with the driving pulley for the lower or winding up roll, may be conveniently designated the towel dispensing roll, or, considering it with reference to thelower roll "14, it -may properly be designated as the driving roll, as by its rotation it drives the winding up roll through the pulleys and belt hereinbefore referred to.

I do not limit myself to the details of the construction herein shown and described, as the same maybe varied or modified in many particulars without departing from my invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. A towel cabinet having in combination a towel dispensing roll from which clean toweling is adapted to be drawn from a separate towel supply, a wind up roll spacedbelow the dispensing roll and having a reverse movement, and a friction drive directly connect ng said dispensing roll with said wind up roll, said friction driv being arranged to rotatethc wind up ron in towel rolling direction as the dispensing roll rotates in towel dispensing direction and permitting slippage between said rolls part of the towel from contacting with the soiled portion thereof.

2. A towel cabinet having in combination a towel dispensing roll fromwhich clean toweling is adapted to be drawn from a separate towel supply, a wind up roll spaced below the dispensing roll and having a reverse movement and a belt drive for transmitting motion-from said dispensing roll to said wind up roll, said belt drive being arranged to rotate the wind up roll lit) in towel rolling direction as the dispensing roll rotates in towel dispensing direction, said belt permittingslippage between said rolls to compensate forthevarying diameters thereof and allow said wind up roll to berevolved backwardly for the purpose, set

forth and means for preventing the clean part of the towel from contacting with the soiled portion thereof. b v. I

I 3.: A towel cabinet having in combination atowel dispensing roll from which clean toweling is adapted to-bedrawn from a separate towel supply, awindup rollspaced below the dispensing roll and having .a

"reverse movement, a crossed belt drive for transmitting power from the shaft of said dispensing roll to said wind up roll, said belt drive being arranged to rotate-the wind up roll in towel rolling direction as the dispensing roll rotates-in towel dispensing direction, said belt allowing slippage between said rolls to compensate for their varying diameters and to allow saidwind up. roll to be reversed, said rolls through thexcrossing of said drive belt revolving in the holding compart1nent,over the dispensing roll, to the wind-up roll, and a friction drive between said dispensing roll and said wind-up roll, said drive being arranged to permit slippage between said rolls, for the purpose set forth.-

5. A towel cabinet comprising, in combination, an'uprightcasing having an open front, anda clean toweling holding compartment arranged in its lower part, a towel dispensing roll mounted in bearings-in the upper part of theca'sing, a wind-up roll arranged belowthe openfront of the casing,

means for guidingthe toweling from the holding compartment, over the.- dispensing roll, to the wind-up roll, belt pulleys arranged upon the shafts of sa d dispensing and wind-up rolls and a driving 'belt extending over said pulleys and arranged to permit slippage Between purpose set forth. v c 6. A, towel cabinet comprising, a casing having a receptacle in its lower portion for the clean towel, a dispensing roll in the upper portion of said casing'and over which theweb ofwcleantowel is passed, a soiled towel take-up roll mounted intermediate to said clean towelreceptacle and said dissaid rolls, for vthe c5 pensing roll, the web 'ofclean toweling being drawn outwardly from said dispensing roll to.- a point in front of the cabinet and from thence passing to said take-up roll, and a friction drive between said dispensing ,and' ta ke-'up'-- rolls adapted for slippage to compensate for the increasing diameter of, said take-up roll.

v 7.,A towel cabinet comprising a casing I havlng an opening in its front wall through which the user may have access tothe towel and a compartment for the soiled. towel below said opening,ca take-uproll mounted in said compartment over v which clean toweling is adapted tohbe drawn .from'a.

separate towel supply, a-dispensing roll for the "cleantowel mounted in the upper por-' at the front of said casing, a friction drive connecting said dispensingrolllwitli said tion of said casing in position to deliver the a web of clean toweling through said opening take-up roll, said drive allowing said take 1 -up roll to be reversed by pull of the user on the soiled portion of the towel, and said take-up roll being revolvedto wind up the slack of soiledtowel when apull is'applied by the user'tothe depending clean portion.

of the towel. 1

- 8.A towel cabinet comp'rising a casinghaving an opening in the upper front portion thereof through which the user may for the soiled towel-below said 0pening,;'a

take-up roll for-the soiled towel mounted in-v said compartment over which clean toweling is adapted to be, drawn from aseparate; towel supply, the forwardwallvof said'com-fl Vpartment' below said opening, :extending' above said take-up roll, a dispensing roll for the cleantowel mounted infthe upper portion'of said casingfor delivering a web grasp the clean-towel, and a compartment:-

v of the clean towel through saidgopening to the user, a friction'drivebetween said. dispensing roll and said take vup roll, said drive allowing said take up roll to be reversed and a loop of the soiled towel to .ireston and said take-up roll being revolved to wind up said loop of soiledtowel when the user applies a downward-pull to. the web-of v a clean towel.

110 i said wall and depend. outside said casing,

9. A towel holder having ,aj combination. a r a towel dispensing roll over which clean toweling is, adapted to be drawn from a separate towel supply in the upper portion thereof, a take .up roll mounted-for uni-e:

stricted movementin either direction in the lower portion, said holder having an opening between said rolls through which the user may grasp and pullthe web of towel, a friction drive between said rolls, back ward 'pull of the user on thesoiled towel reversing said take-up roll toallow] the formation of a depending loop of towel'at the front of said holder, dow-n pull of the user on the clean towel -revolvingrsaid takeup rolli to wind up the soiled towel, the increasing diameter of the take-up roll? causing a faster winding of the slack soiled l towel than the delivery of the cleantowel and thereby winding up said depending loop of soiled towel.

10. A towel holder having in combination a clean towel dispensing roll from which clean toweling is adapted to be drawn from a separate towel supply, a take-up roll mounted for unrestricted movement in either direction, and asoiled towel compartment in which said take-up roll is mounted,

a space being provided between said rolls for the user .to' grasp and pull the clean towel outwardl and reverse the direction of movement o the take-up roll to form a loop of towel at the front of said holder, a

friction drive between said rolls ermitting said reverse movement of the ta e-up roll and allowing slippage to compensate for the increasing diameter of the take-up roll,

outward pull of the user on the clean towel operating said take-up roll through said friction drive to wind up the soiled towel and the loop formed therein. 7

11. A towel holder having in combination a towel dispensing roll from which clean toweling is adapted to be drawn from a separate towel supply, a soiled towel compartment, a take-up roll mounted for unrestricted movement in either direction in said compartment, a friction drive between said rolls, said holder having an opening through which the user may grasp and pull the clean towel, said compartment having a wall over which a 100 of the towel may depend, the increasing iameter of the takeup roll winding up the soiled towel faster than the delivery of the clean portion and compensating for any accumulation of soiled towel on the wall of said compartment, pull of the user on the clean towel operating to revolve said take-up rolls to wind the soiled towel thereon.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this 9th day of August, 1921.

FRANK M. STEINER. 

